April has been busy . . .

April has been a busy month for me.  I’d love to say it was filled with sewing; but that’s not the case. But I did get some sewing done, in between everything else.

So what was my April like:

•   I caught a nasty flu virus which took me out  in late March, early April.
• My Dad caught pneumonia; so we kids took turns rotating a week with my parents.  I’m happy to say that he was blessed with a full recovery.  The doctors can’t find any trace of the pneumonia.
•  My local “adopted” mom, also caught pneumonia; God saw fit to call her home.  I have times of joy when I think of her and the times we had together; but my heart hurts tremendously.  I’m maneuvering the waters of not having her physically here. 
• I had foot surgery the end of April, and have been home recuperating from that for the last week.  My husband has been playing nursemaid, and has been doing an excellent job of it.

It is during the tough times that I know that God is here and in control.   

It is the sewing; just thinking of it, that has kept my mind distracted. Thank God for the internet.  I’ve been surfing the internet, viewing Craftsy classes, and blog stalking (the only good kind of stalking there is).

I joined the “Sew Your Own Wardrobe For a Year” challenge. (I managed to do that right before life got in the way). I added the badge for the challenge to my blog.

I did finally manage to finish my coat that I started a year ago.  Only the button holes left to do.   I did all hand tailoring on it.  It’s taken a considerable amount of time to finish; but as its been said in the Tortoise and the Hare fable:  “ Slow and Steady wins the race”.

In addition to that I finished up my vintage peplum blouse, and got a black pencil skirt  completed to go with it.  I also did a grey knit skirt. 

Once I’m mobile again, in the next week or so, I’ll take pictures and post them.  

I did manage to start on McCall 6504:

Trinkets from my Internet surfing:

So in the midst of my internet surfing, I did come across a couple of things that might be of interest to some of you out there:

·         Maria Denmark –Kimono Tee that is free from from  Craftsy.com and Maria Denmark pattern:

You can get the pattern from either of the links above.  Maria Denmark also has a very nice blog; you should take a look at it:  http://blog.mariadenmark.com.

·        Blank Canvas Tee – Also from Craftsy.com: and 3hourspast.com

You can get this pattern from either of the links above. The 3hourspast.com also shows some “hacks”, i.e. customizations, of the pattern. This blog also has an amazing overview of what the correct “Peplum Length” is.  I found it very insightful.

·        The Miranda Skirt – this link provides instructions on how to draft your own version of this skirt.  This instructions for this pattern were provide by Sherry of the Paper, Scissors,  and Cloth blog.

I’ll post more of my internet findings and my project photos in the coming days.

Happy Sewing . . . .